Gunman a 'neo-Nazi'

Shooter in Sikh temple attack described himself as part of skinhead group

Associated Press

Published 9:58 pm, Monday, August 6, 2012

Photo: M. Spencer Green

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Amardeep Kaleka, son of the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, center, comforts members of the temple, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman killed six people a day earlier, before being shot and killed himself by police. Satwant Kaleka, 65, founder and president of the temple, died in the shooting. He was among four priests who died. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) less

Amardeep Kaleka, son of the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, center, comforts members of the temple, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman killed six people a day earlier, before ... more

Photo: M. Spencer Green

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Members of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin comfort each other Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman killed six people a day earlier, before being shot and killed himself by police. Satwant Kaleka, 65, founder and president of the temple, died in the shooting. He was among four priests who died. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) less

Members of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin comfort each other Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman killed six people a day earlier, before being shot and killed himself by police. Satwant ... more

Photo: M. Spencer Green

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Harinder Kaur Rakhra, left, sister of Satwant Singh Kaleka who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, is consoled by Seema Sharma, a local politician in Patiala, India, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that he was shocked and saddened by the shooting attack that killed six people. The photo on left shows Satwant Singh Kaleka, with his wife Satpal Kaleka. (AP Photo/Rajesh Sachar) less

Harinder Kaur Rakhra, left, sister of Satwant Singh Kaleka who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, is consoled by Seema Sharma, a local politician in Patiala, ... more

Photo: Rajesh Sachar

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Indian Sikhs shout slogans in front of the U.S Consulate during a protest in Hyderabad, India, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 to condemn Sunday's shooting at a Sikh temple in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that he was shocked and saddened by the shooting attack that killed six people. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.) less

Indian Sikhs shout slogans in front of the U.S Consulate during a protest in Hyderabad, India, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 to condemn Sunday's shooting at a Sikh temple in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Indian Prime ... more

OAK CREEK, Wis. — Before he strode into a Sikh temple with a 9mm handgun and multiple magazines of ammunition, Wade Michael Page played in white supremacist heavy metal bands with names such as Definite Hate and End Apathy.

The bald, heavily tattooed bassist was a 40-year-old Army veteran who trained in psychological warfare before he was demoted and discharged more than a decade ago.

A day after he killed six worshippers at the suburban Milwaukee temple, fragments of Page's life emerged in public records and interviews. But his motive was still largely a mystery.

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards suggested Monday that investigators might never know for certain why the lone attacker targeted a temple full of strangers.

"We have a lot of information to decipher, to put it all together before we can positively tell you what that motive is — if we can determine that," Edwards said.

Page, who was shot to death by police, joined the Army in 1992 and was discharged in 1998. He was described Monday by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a "frustrated neo-Nazi" who had long been active in white supremacist music.

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Page wrote frequently on white supremacist websites, describing himself as a member of the "Hammerskins Nation," a skinhead group rooted in Texas, according to the SITE Monitoring Service, a Maryland-based firm that searches the Internet for terrorist and other extremist activity.

Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the law center, a nonprofit civil rights organization in Montgomery, Ala., said Page played in groups whose often sinister-sounding names seemed to "reflect what he went out and actually did." The music talked about genocide against Jews and other minorities.

Page joined the military in Milwaukee in 1992 and was a repairman for the Hawk missile system before switching jobs to become one of the Army's psychological operations specialists assigned to a battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C. He never deployed overseas in that role, Army spokesman George Wright said.

Page was demoted in June 1998 for getting drunk while on duty and going AWOL, two defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Page entered the temple as several dozen people prepared for Sunday services. He opened fire without saying a word.

The president of the temple died defending the house of worship he founded. Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, managed to find a butter knife in the temple and attempted to stab the gunman before being shot twice, his son said Monday.

Amardeep Singh Kaleka said FBI agents hugged him, shook his hand and told him his father was a hero. "Whatever time he spent in that struggle gave the women time to get cover" in the kitchen, Kaleka said.

With their turbans and long beards, Sikhs are often mistaken for Muslims or Arabs, and have inadvertently become targets of anti-Muslim bias in the United States.

On Sunday, the first officer to respond was shot eight to nine times as he tended to a victim outside the temple. A second officer then exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was fatally shot.

The six dead ranged in age from 39 to 84 years old. Three people were critically wounded, including the police officer.

Federal officials said the gun used in the attack had been legally purchased.